UMASS/AMHERST 


3]iEDt.[30]ilfle7EQ4 


DATE   DUE                           1 

1 
1 

UNIVERSITY  OF  MASSACHUSETTS 
LIBRARY 


F 
72 
E7 
67 


!•>  K  0 


7he  North 
Shore  of 
Massachusetts 


American 

Summer 

Resorts 


The    North    Shore.        By     Robert 
Grant. 

With  Illustrations  by  W.  T.  Smed- 

LEY. 

Newport.      By    W.    C.    Brownell. 
With    Illustrations   by  W.    S.    Van- 
DERBiLT  Allen. 

Bar  Harbor.     By  F.  Marion  Craw- 
ford. 
With    Illustrations   by    C.    S.    Rein- 
hart. 

Lenox.     By  George  A.  HiBBARD. 

With   Illustrations  by    W.    S.    Van- 
derbilt  Allen. 

■^^■^  Each  i2mo.  Cloth.    Price,  75  cents 


T/ie    Pleasure   of  Handlitig   the    Tille 


AMERICAN  SUMMER   REPORTS 


THE  NORTH  SHORE  OF 
MASSACHUSE  TTS 

BY 

ROBERT  GRANT 
ILLUSTRATED  BT 

W.  T.  SMEDLET 


CHARLES  SCRIENER'S  SONS 

NEW  YORK  MDCCCXCFI 


Copyright  l8g4^  lSg6,  by 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S   SONi 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

The  pleasure  of  handling  the  tiller  Frontispiece 

Cape  Ann        ......        j 

Looking  toward  Sw amp scott  from  the  Cliffs  at 
Nahant  .... 

The  Cliffs  at  Nahant       . 

Looking  toward  Boston  from  Nahant   . 

The  Beverly  Shore  .... 

On  the  Piazxa  of  the  Eastern  Tacht  Club 

A  Tacht  Race  at  Marhlehead    . 

Pavilion  at  Masconomo 

Residences  on  the  Point  at  Manchester-hy-the- 
Sea  ..... 

Entrance  to  the  Grounds  of  the  Essex  County 
Club 

The  Hounds — Myopia  Hunt  Club 

Magnolia.^  from  Norinan^s   Woe  Point 

At  Manchester-by-the-Sea 

Avenue  of  Pines.,  near  Manchester-by-the- 
Sea         55 

The  Reef  of  Norman  s  Woe       .  .  59 


7 
II 

15 
'9 
23 

21 
31 

35 

39 
43 
47 


-^ 


N 


iM\5^h\c)c)i&Ac 


THE  NORTH  SHORE 


TO  those  who  live  in  Boston  and  its 
vicinity  the  North  Shore  of  Massa- 
chusetts, or  The  North  Shore,  as  it  is  al- 
ways called,  has  come  to  have  an  identity  as 
a  summer-resort  quite  as  distinct  as  that  of 
Bar  Harbor,  Newport,  or  Lenox.  Even 
New  Yorkers,  enlightened  as  to  its  advan- 
tages by  those  who  go  down  to  the  sea  in 
yachts,  have  learned  to  think  of  it  respect- 
fully as  a  very  pretty  place  to  which  Bos- 
tonians  who  wish  to  keep  cool,  and  yet  be 
able  to  see  the  gilded  dome  of  the  State- 
house  through  a  telescope,  hie  themselves 
from  June  to  October.  One  would  sup- 
pose that  its  accessibility,  its  coolness, 
its  freedom  from  either  democratic  or 
plutocratic  crowds,  and  the  unique  com- 
bination of  the  seaside  and   the  country 


S/i 


ore 


^^«  which  It  affords  would  have  attracted  be- 
fore this  the  people  from  large  cities  who 
wish  to  be  comfortable  without  being  de- 
voured by  mosquitoes,  to  be  cheerful 
without  having  to  be  riotous,  to  get 
enough  to  eat  without  being  obliged  to 
fight  for  it,  and  to  sit  on  .their  piazzas 
without  exposure  to  kodaks,  picnickers, 
or  surf  flirtation.  And  yet  the  comfort- 
seeking  public  still  passes  it  by  in  favor  of 
abandoned  farms,  sylvan  camps,  islands  on 
the  coast  of  Maine,  and  the  various  other 
refuges  from  the  life  of  the  average  sum- 
mer watering-place.  Perhaps  the  reason 
is  to  be  found  in  the  argument  that  it  is 
too  near  Boston,  which  is  a  polite  way  of 
expressing  reluctance  to  invade  the  sacred 
precincts  of  the  most  critical  society  in 
America  for  fear  of  not  pleasing.  If  such 
be  the  case,  this  attitude  of  caution  acts  as 
a  two-edged  sword,  for  if  there  is  any  plea 
to  be  urged  against  the  attractiveness  of 
the  North  Shore  it  is  that  the  society  is  so 
exclusively  Bostonese. 

The  families  from  a  distance  are  almost 


Cape 
Ann. 

"  ne 

end  of 

every. 

thing 

except 

the 

Atlantic 

Ocean  ' ' 


to  be  numbered  on  the  fingers  of  one  hand,  Cape 
and  you  meet  in  your  walks  and  drives 
and  social  intercourse  the  self-same  people 
with  whom  you  have  dined  and  slummed, 
or  whom  you  have  seen  at  the  Symphony 
Concerts  all  winter.  If  it  is  meet  that 
man  should  not  live  alone,  it  is  almost 
equally  desirable  that  he  should  for  a 
month  or  two  in  every  year  lose  sight  of 
all  his  family,  excepting  his  very  nearest 
and  dearest,  and  his  entire  customary  social 
acquaintance.  But  this  is  a  privilege  which 
only  those  who  are  not  tied  by  business 
exigencies  to  the  apron-strings  of  their 
native  city  are  able  to  enjoy  with  any  de- 
gree of  regularity. 

Bv  the  North  Shore  is  meant  the  north- 
ern coast  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  from  Na- 
hant  and  Swampscott  on  the  southwest 
to  Gloucester  and  Cape  Ann  on  the 
northeast.  Cape  Ann  is  the  end  of  every- 
thing except  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and 
civilization  properly  ceases  before  you 
come  to  Gloucester,  the  famous  fishing- 
town  of  this  portion  of  the  world,  which 
5 


SA. 


ore 


^^^  lies  thirty-one  miles  from  Boston  in  a  tol- 
erably direct  line  by  rail.  Along  the  bor- 
ders of  this  rocky  coast,  which  abounds  in 
marvellous  curves  and  indentations, includ- 
ing several  fine  harbors,  stands  a  succes- 
sion of  villas,  of  various  types  of  archi- 
tecture, and  for  the  most  part  at  sufficient 
intervals  from  one  another  to  insure 
privacy,  for  a  distance  of  fifteen  miles. 
Swampscott,  Phillips  Beach,  Marblehead 
Neck,  Beverly,  Pride's  Crossing,  Beverly 
Farms,  West  Manchester,  and  Manches- 
ter, are  among  the  names  by  which,  for 
the  sake  of  municipal  or  railway  conve- 
nience, one  strip  of  shore  is  distinguished 
from  the  next ;  but  except  for  the  purposes 
of  taxation  the  aggregation  of  villas  may  be 
said  to  be  part  and  parcel  of  no  town,  and 
to  be  a  community  unto  themselves. 

In  the  same  category  should  also  be 
included  Nahant,  a  watering-place  far  older 
than  any  of  these,  a  rockv  promontorv 
stretching  out  into  the  sea,  nearly  at  right 
angles  with  the  coast  from  Lynn,  to  which 
it  is  joined  by  a  narrow  line  of  sand  beach, 

6 


Looking 
To'ward 


■^*%-' 


scott 
from 
the 
Cliffs 
at 
Nahant 


three  miles  long,  traversed  by  a  single  road.  ^^^^' 
The  late  Thomas  Gold  Appleton  fastened 
upon  Nahant  the  epithet  of"  Cold  Roast 
Boston."  It  has  for  several  generations 
been  a  favorite  summer-resort  for  old 
Boston  families,  and  its  popularity  has 
never  waned  among  those  who  by  descent 
or  purchase  have  acquired  an  interest  in 
its  limited  territory.  For  invigorating 
coolness  of  atmosphere,  boldness  and  pic- 
turesqueness  of  rock  effects,  and  the  com- 
plete illusion  of  being  at  sea  which  one 
experiences  on  many  a  piazza,  Nahant  has 
attractions  at  least  equal  to  those  of  the 
rest  of  The  North  Shore.  There  is  in- 
deed a  mild  rivalry  between  its  cottagers 
and  those  of  the  Beverly  coast,  whose 
favorite  taunt  that  Nahant  possesses  only 
one  drive  can  never  be  refuted,  and  only 
counterbalanced  by  the  claim  that  those 
who  sleep  at  Nahant  can  enjov  a  delicious 
sail  to  the  city  by  steamboat,  instead  of 
being  obliged  to  undergo  a  heated,  dusty, 
railway  journey.  The  rapid  and  luxurious 
evolution  of  summer  life  along  the  North 

9 


The 

North 

Shore 


Shore  has  had  a  marked  effect  upon  the 
appearance  of  Nahant,  and  to  some  extent 
upon  the  manner  of  life  there.  Twenty- 
iive  years  ago  Nahant  was  the  aristocratic 
watering-place  of  Boston  ;  but  there  were 
few  if  any  trim  lawns  to  be  found  upon  its 
territory,  and  there  were  no .  trees  except 
an  occasional  clump  of  weather-beaten 
balm  of  Gileads.  White  weed,  dandelions, 
and  butter-cups,  the  red  honeysuckle,  and 
common  prickly  roses  ran  delightful  riot 
in  front  of  every  piazza,  and  the  not  infre- 
quent cry  of  "  Cows  on  the  place,'*  was 
a  pleasant  slogan  to  the  rising  genera- 
tion. 

To-day  all  these  primitive  beauties 
have  disappeared  beneath  the  harrow  of 
the  landscape  gardener,  and  given  place 
to  cultivated  verdure,  aesthetic-looking 
bushes,  and  a  very  respectable  number  of 
trees,  so  that  it  is  no  longer  possible  for 
the  Beverlyites  to  declare,  as  formerlv, 
that  there  is  not  a  reputable  piece  of  fo- 
liage on  the  peninsula.  Moreover,  a  very 
successful  club  or  casino,  organized  within 


the  last  five  years,  acts  as  a  central  magnet  '^''^ 
to  draw  the  cottagers  from  their  piazzas 
and  to  promote  social  circulation.  And  Nahant 
still  along  the  water's  edge,  especially  on 
the  eastern  side,  stands  a  splendid  array  of 
cliffs  which  no  one  has  ever  attempted  to 
improve,  and  which  are  more  impressive 
in  their  ruggedness  and  bold  beauty  than 
any  on  the  North  Shore.  There  are, 
indeed,  none  on  the  coast,  excepting  per- 
haps at  Bar  Harbor,  which  surpass  them 
in  grandeur.  Here  is  the  well-known 
Pulpit  Rock,  so  named  from  its  shape,  to 
the  top  of  which,  in  the  days  of  the  old 
hotel — burned  more  than  thirty  years  ago, 
and  never  rebuilt — an  adventurous  damsel 
climbed,  only  to  discover  that  she  had  to 
be  lowered  by  ropes. 

Tradition  tells  us  that  Nahant  was  ori- 
ginally traded  by  an  Indian  for  a  suit  of 
clothes  ;  and  it  is  probable  that  the  simple 
savage  felt  that  he  got  quite  as  good  a 
bargain  as  William  Blackstone  did  when 
he  parted  with  Boston.  Where  in  the 
world  is  there  such  a  delightful  dormitory 


^^^  as  Nahant,  distant  bv  either  sea  or  land 
^"J^  only  an  hour  from  the  city,  where  the 
tired  business  man  may  refresh  his  brow 
and  lungs  and  eyes,  and  his  children  may 
breathe  ozone  day  in  day  out,  and  learn 
to  swim  like  ducks  in  the  coldest  of  cold 
waters  P 

The  North  Shore  proper,  which  begins 
at  Swampscott  and  extends  beyond  West 
Manchester,  represents,  unlike  Nahant, 
the  growth  of  the  last  twenty  years.  It  is 
a  fringe  of  aristocracy  skirting  the  coast  of 
the  noble  County  of  Essex,  whose  towns 
of  Salem,  Beverly,  Marblehead,  and  Glou- 
cester have,  in  the  past,  been  such  intelli- 
gent and  honest  factors  in  the  welfare  of 
the  State  and  nation.  But  the  once  well- 
known  Ocean  Street,  Lynn,  should  not  be 
passed  over  in  any  itinerary  of  this  shore. 
This  short,  straight  avenue,  on  the  ocean 
confines  of  the  shoe  town  of  Lynn,  was, 
twenty-five  years  ago,  divided  into  perhaps 
a  dozen  and  a  half  beautiful  estates,  of 
from  one  to  three  acres  in  extent,  ranged 
side  by  side  in  precise  stateliness.  The 
14 


Looking 
Toivard 
Boston 

from 
Nahant 


.,^.^-., 


\'illas  were  elaborate  for  that  time,  and  the  a'^^^'^"' 
places  were  tended  fiir  more  carefully  than 
those  of  Nahant,  and  made  in  most  in- 
stances to  display  beautiful  lawns  and  fine 
trees  and  flowers.  They  fronted  on  the 
avenue,  and  backed  directly  on  the  full 
expanse  of  the  portion  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  which  lies  under  the  lee  of  Nahant, 
and  they  were  owned  by  Boston  people  of 
wealth  and  social  prominence.  Under  the 
combined  influence  of  the  tide  of  fashion, 
which  was  moving  farther  along  the  coast, 
and  the  increased  demand  for  summer 
residences,  which  suggested  to  real-estate 
speculators  the  possibilities  of  subdivision, 
these  fine  estates  began  to  drop  into  the 
market  about  twenty  years  ago,  and  have 
since  been  cut  up  into  smaller  building 
lots  and  traversed  by  connecting  streets. 

The  old  villas  have  been  pulled  down, 
and  in  one  or  two  cases  have  been  super- 
seded by  much  more  elaborate  structures, 
the  homes  chiefly  of  the  wealthy  manufac- 
turers of  Lynn.  But  the  greater  portion 
of  the  new  cottages  are  of  the  every-day 
17 


North 
Shore 


^^^  Queen  Anne  pattern,  and,  though  thev 
command  the  same  beautiful  ocean  outlook 
as  formerly,  they  are  too  much  commanded 
by  the  windows  of  their  next-door  neigh- 
bors. In  short.  Ocean  Street  has  become 
more  like  its  next-door  neighbor,  Swamp- 
scott,  a  community  of  small  estates  on  the 
edge  of  the  sea,  grouped  closely  together 
with  an  eye  only  to  keeping  cool  and  to 
looking  seaward  in  summer.  Ocean 
Street,  however,  as  has  been  stated,  has 
been  appropriated  chiefly  by  the  rich  shoe- 
makers of  Lynn,  who  live  there  the  year 
round,  whereas  Swampscott's  single  shore 
road,  which  runs  out  of  Ocean  Street,  has 
for  years  and  years  been  the  camping- 
ground  of  people  from  Boston  and  its 
vicinity,  who  have  been  content  to  allow 
its  fishing-village  aspect  to  remain  unal- 
tered except  in  a  very  few  instances.  Here 
are  two  large  hotels,  and  a  host  of  board- 
ing-houses, and  a  sand  beach,  and  a  rail- 
road station  within  easy  driving  distance 
to  accommodate  the  business  men  who 
wish  to  live  at  the  sea-side  with  as  little 


r 


The 

Beverly 

Shore 


Shore 


trouble  and  expense  as  possible,  and  at  the    t^<' 
same   time   to    be    close   to    town.      This    J^^^^^ 
simplicity  of  architectural  and  social  effects 
is  true,  particularly  of  the  village  proper. 

Beyond  it  the  shore,  which  stretches  to 
Marblehead,  has  become  occupied  by  more 
elaborate  cottages,  some  conspicuously 
ugly  and  others  of  very  tasteful  design. 
Many  fine  water-views  are  obtained  from 
these,  notably  from  the  beautiful  Gal- 
loupe's  Point,  which  is  shut  out  from  the 
dust  of  the  high  road  and  other  sugges- 
tions of  urban  proximity.  In  brief,  it  may 
be  stated  that  the  last  twenty  years  have 
seen  the  erection,  along  the  hitherto  un- 
occupied shore  from  Swampscott  to  Mar- 
blehead, of  colonies  of  cottages  inviting 
the  proprietorship  of  the  increasing  class 
of  well-to-do  people  who  desire  to  live 
comfortably  in  summer,  interspersed  with 
an  occasional  hotel  of  ample  dimensions, 
the  prices  of  which  terrify  the  democratic 
beachcomber  whose  ambition  is  bounded 
by  a  fishing-pole,  clams,  and  pink  lemon- 
ade. 


The  In  an  indenture  of  the  coast  formed  by 

the  harbors  of  Marblehead  and  Salem, 
and  on  a  smaller  harbor  of  its  own,  is 
situated  the  ancient  village,  but  modern 
shoe  town,  of  Beverly,  from  which  the 
picturesque  strip  of  shore  which  stretches 
thence  to  Cape  Ann  takes  its  name.  For 
almost  a  generation  there  has  been  a 
nucleus  of  beautiful  estates  on  the  shore, 
beyond  the  street  limits  of  the  town,  where 
the  same  class  of  people  who  went  sum- 
mer after  summer  to  Nahant  lived  in 
peaceful  enjoyment  of  broad  acres  of 
woods,  marsh,  and  beach,  undisturbed  by 
thrifty  cogitations  as  to  their  market  price. 
The  houses,  like  the  original  houses  at 
Nahant,  were  square,  comfortable-looking, 
dull-colored  edifices,  surrounded  by  broad 
piazzas  protected  by  sloping  roofs  unen- 
livened by  the  modern  shingle  stain,  and 
the  landscape  wore  a  rougher  appearance 
than  at  present.  To  the  northeast,  as  far 
as  the  eve  could  see,  lay  a  marvellous 
coast,  with  here  a  curving  beach  and  there 
a  wooded  point,  and  here  again  a  superb 


On  the 

Piaz-za 
of  the 
Eastern 
Tacht 
Club 


.3*    ' 


reach  of  cliffs,  each  and  all  provided  with 
a  background  of  undulating  fields  and  rich 
dark  foliage.  All  this  edge  of  ocean,  with  its 
wealth  of  country  behind,  was  practically  un- 
occupied, and  large  tracts  of  it  could  be  pur- 
chased at  what  now  seem  pitiful  figures  from 
the  fishermen  farmers  who  held  it  in  fee. 

To  the  south-southwest,  across  the  wa- 
ter, the  Beverly  cottagers  looked  at  the 
queer  old  town  of  Marblehead  without  a 
suspicion  that  there  was  a  handsome  for- 
tune staring  them  in  the  face  in  the  shape 
of  the  spit  of  land  which  forms  the  outer 
bulwark  of  the  harbor,  where  to-day  the 
white-winged  yachts  almost  outnumber  the 
white-winged  gulls.  Twentv  years  ago 
and  less,  Marblehead  Neck,  as  it  is  called, 
was  in  the  general  estimation  a  bleak  head- 
land which  no  one  cared  to  build  upon. 
Now  it  fairly  bristles  with  small  habita- 
tions, which  have  sprung  up  in  such  close 
proximity  to  one  another,  and  on  such 
primitive  lines,  architecturally  speaking,  as 
almost  to  suggest  a  camp-meeting  settle- 
ment. 

^5 


The 

Be-verly 

Shore 


The  A   little    apart    from    these   stands    the 

,r'       club-house  of  the  Eastern  Yacht  Club,  the 

Shore 

meeting-place  on  shore  of  the  yachting 
brotherhood,  whither,  at  the  time  of  the 
sojourn  of  the  New  York  or  Eastern 
squadrons,  comes  all  the  fashionable  Shore 
to  dine  and  dance  and  visit  the  racing 
machines  and  the  graceful  floating  bou- 
doirs which  fairly  crowd  the  tranquil  waters 
of  the  snug  harbor  below.  Outside  this 
same  harbor,  where  the  pleasure  yachts  of 
two  friendly  countries  contend  for  silver 
cups  in  eager  emulation,  the  Chesapeake 
and  the  Shannon  fired  broadsides  at  each 
other  in  the  same  summer  weather  not  far 
from  a  hundred  years  ago. 

It  is  at  and  beyond  Beverly,  however, 
that  the  true  grandeur  of  the  North  Shore 
begins.  Marblehead  Neck  is  bold  and 
reaches  out  to  sea,  and  the  old  town  of 
Marblehead,  which  lies  directly  across  the 
narrow  harbor,  provides,  by  its  quaint 
streets  and  its  legend  of  Skipper  Ireson 
with  the  hard  heart,  abundant  material  for 
the  edification  of  those  who  take  an  after- 
26 


A 

Tcuht 

Race 
at 

Marble- 
head 


tf^nt^^y,         iji 


.^^ 


noon  drive  in  that  direction.  But  the  true  ^'^'^ 
glorv  of  the  North  Shore,  that  uniquely  ^i"^"^^ 
picturesque  and  ev^er-varving  combination 
of  sea-side  and  country  which  distinguishes 
it  from  the  rest  of  this  shore  and  from  other 
shores,  begins  at  Beverly.  It  sounds  like 
a  paradox  to  state  that  you  may  there  look 
out  from  rugged  cliffs  over  a  summer  sea 
and  inhale  its  salt  fragrance,  and  yet  by  a 
turn  of  your  heel  find  yourself  face  to  face 
with  a  landscape  of  rustic  meadows  and 
stately  woods.  Yet  such  is  exactly  the 
case.  The  dweller  in  this  paradise  scents 
on  his  piazza  the  mingled  aroma  of  brine 
and  pine,  of  storm-tossed  sea-weed  and 
new-mown  hay  ;  and,  moreover,  in  this  in- 
stance man  has  joined  hands  with  nature  to 
preserve  the  beauties  of  the  scene,  in  that 
he  has  refused  to  subdivide  his  lands. 

A  succession  of  magnificent  estates  fol- 
lows the  shore,  but  almost  invariably  the 
houses  stand  in  the  midst  of  several  acres, 
and  are  frequently  sheltered  by  woods  or 
surrounded  by  a  more  or  less  cultivated 
park.  This  gives  an  elegance  to  the  land- 
29 


T^^  scape  which  serves  to  heighten  the  effect  of 
the  splendid  scenery,  and  these  conditions 
have  been  maintained  in  the  rapid  develop- 
ment of  the  shore  which  has  taken  place 
during  the  last  ten  or  fifteen  years. 

The  sudden  increased  demand  for  sea- 
side residences,  and  the  rapid  and  extraor- 
dinary trebling  and  quadrupling  of  values 
consequent  thereon,  which  has  been  a  part 
of  the  recent  history  of  the  entire  New 
England  coast,  has  been  more  remarkable 
in  the  case  of  the  Beverly  shore  than  in 
that  of  any  other  resort  except  Bar  Har- 
bor. Large  tracts  of  wooded  lands  along 
the  sea's  edge,  and  strikingly  beautiful 
points  which  had  been  suffered  to  remain 
unoccupied  for  generations  save  by  local 
farmers,  have  changed  ownership  at  fancy 
prices  and  been  made  the  sites  for  villas  of 
the  most  improved  modern  architecture. 

From  Beverly  you  come  to  Pride's 
Crossing  and  Beverly  Farms,  beyond 
which  lies  West  Manchester,  Manchester 
and  the  Masconomo  House — the  one  hotel 
of  that  immediate  shore — and  Magnolia  ; 
30 


Paa/ilion 
at  "  The 
Masco- 
nomo^'' 


The 


and  everywhere  the  same  class  of  habita- 
tion is  to  be  seen,  more  elaborate  and  lux-    J^^''y 

'  Shore 

urious,  perhaps,  the  farther  you  proceed. 
The  eager  purchaser  has  occupied  every 
available  piece  of  shore,  and  in  many  cases 
has  bought  it  from  poetic  but  far-sighted 
individuals  who  anticipated  the  demand.  It 
sometimes  happens  in  this  wicked  world, 
though  perhaps  too  infrequently,  that  the 
practised  acumen  of  the  real-estate  specu- 
lator is  put  to  the  blush  by  the  more  dis- 
cerning wisdom  of  the  seer. 

Unlike  Newport,  Lenox,  and  Bar  Har- 
bor, the  North  Shore  is  first  of  all  a  dormi- 
tory. The  busy  men  of  affairs,  who  spend 
the  summer  at  Beverly  Farms  or  Man- 
chester, go  to  Boston  every  day  and  return 
home  in  the  early  afternoon,  content  to  sit 
on  the  piazzas  enjoying  the  breezes  from 
the  ocean,  or  to  drive  or  ride.  Until  with- 
in the  last  few  years  the  evening  meal  was 
a  high  tea,  at  which  the  rising  generation 
could  entertain  their  contemporaries  with- 
out compelling  paterfamilias  to  do  more 
than  brush  his  hair,  or  depriving  him  of 

33 


The 

North 
Shore 


his  evening  paper.  Many  people  on  the 
Beverly  shore  now  have  late  dinner;  con- 
sequently there  is  more  formality  and  cir- 
cumstance, and  he  who  would  fain  lie  in  a 
hammock  and  listen  to  the  trembling  of 
the  sea  may  have  to  choose  between  green 
mint,  curacoa,  and  benedictine,  and  try 
to  forget  that  he  is  to  take  the  early  train 
in  the  morning.  But,  after  all,  the  en- 
tertaining of  this  kind  is  not  expensive. 
Paterfamilias  is  a  long-suffering  biped,  but 
his  good  nature  is  apt  to  give  way  after 
missing  once  or  twice  the  a.m.  train,  which 
he  had  hoped  would  be  later  than  he;  and 
even  the  most  energetic  spirits  in  the 
family — naturallv  the  unmarried  daughters 
who  need  do  nothing  all  day  but  breathe 
ozone — prefer  to  spend  the  evenings  in 
their  hammocks.  A  ball  or  evening  re- 
ception such  as  we  know  at  Lenox  or  Bar 
Harbor,  or  even  the  hotel  hop,  which  is 
common  enough  at  the  hotels  along  the 
Swampscott-Marblehead  coast  and  at  the 
Masconomo,  is  unheard  of  on  the  Beverly 
shore.      Occasionally  small    parties    drive 

34 


through  the  woods  to  Chebacco  Lake  to  '^''^ 
sup  on  broiled  chickens,  thin  fried  pota-  ^'^^'^ 
toes  and  champagne,  to  dance  a  gay  waltz 
or  polka  or  two,  and  drive  home  by  moon- 
light; but  apart  from  occasional  dinner- 
parties, this  is  the  limit  of  the  social  gayety. 
A  few  of  the  younger  matrons  complain, 
as  a  consequence,  that  the  Shore  is  dull 
and  needs  awakening;  but  the  sentiment 
of  the  busy  men,  that  rest  after  a  warm 
summer's  day  in  town  is  the  best  form  of 
recreation,  appeals  to  most  wives  and 
daughters,  who  indeed  on  their  own  ac- 
count are  delighted  to  make  the  most  of 
the  out-of-door  life,  to  look  after  their 
lawns  and  shrubbery,  to  drive  and  walk, 
to  go  yachting  if  there  is  a  yacht  in  the 
family,  and  in  general  to  break  away  from 
the  social  diversions  of  life  in  town.  There 
is  some  calling,  and  women  invite  other 
women  from  Nahant  and  elsewhere  to  stay 
with  them  in  order  to  give  them  women 
luncheons — sometimes  rather  elaborate 
luncheons — where  the  conversation  may 
be   about    art    and   literature,  or    mav  be 


The        about    yachts    and    hunting,  according  to 

^^^2,      ^he  aspirations  of  the  hostess. 

Three  afternoons  a  week,  during  July, 
Aug;ust,  and  September,  there  is  the  op- 
portunity, of  which  many  avail  themselves, 
to  see  the  members  of  the  Myopia  Hunt 
Club  plav  polo  on  the  club  grounds  at 
Wenham,  four  or  five  miles  inland  to  the 
north  from  Beverly.  This  is  a  favorite  meet- 
ing-ground. To  reach  it  you  enjoy  a  de- 
lightful drive,  and  while  there  you  are 
afforded  a  panorama  of  the  toilettes  and 
equipages  of  the  Shore  while  watching  the 
antics  of  the  players.  During  the  summer 
of  1893  the  Essex  County  Club,  a  casino 
situated  a  little  inland  from  Manchester, 
was  completed.  This  has  proved  a  con- 
venient uniting  point  for  those  who  craved 
greater  social  activity,  though,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  its  patrons  are  scattered  along  ten 
miles  of  shore,  it  is  occasionally  empty. 
A  cynic  might  be  disposed  to  suggest  that 
the  success  of  the  Club  at  Nahant  was  the 
controlling  reason  why  it  was  built;  but 
the  sudden  popularity  of  the  game  of  golf 


Entrance 

to  the 

Grounds 

of  the 

Essex 

County 

Club 


/ 


Shore 


is  a  new  and  convincing  argument  in  favor    The 

r  •  •    ^  Beverly 

or  Its  existence.  „,    .  -^ 

The  New  England  gentleman  of  fifty 
years  ago,  if  he  could  see  the  way  we  live 
now,  would  open  his  eyes  at  the  import- 
ance which  the  horse  and  his  accoutre- 
ments have  acquired  in  the  eye  of  the 
present  generation,  and  undoubtedly  would 
come  to  the  conclusion,  on  the  whole,  that 
our  ancestors  were  bigoted  in  their  associa- 
tion of  a  semblance  of  sin  with  a  free  use 
of  the  quadruped  in  question.  Certainly 
the  gay  vehicles,  bright  harnesses,  and 
sleek,  stylish  animals  which  are  to  be 
encountered  nowadays  along  the  country 
roads  of  the  strict  old  county  of  Essex,  are 
a  vast  improvement,  from  an  aesthetic  point 
of  view,  over  the  sombre  chaises  and  inele- 
gant nags  by  means  of  which  our  fore-fathers 
endangered  their  chances  of  salvation. 

The  charms  of  out-door  life  on  the 
North  Shore  have  fostered  a  taste  for  rid- 
ing and  driving  which  has  proved,  alike 
in  a  hygienic  and  a  liberalizing  sense,  of 
great  benefit  to  both  the  sexes.  Riding,  at 
41 


The        which  most  young  ladies  and  many  men 
^^/^^      in  the  North  used  to  shy,  has  become,  in 

Snore  •  ' 

several  sections  of  the  country,  and  con- 
spicuously on  the  Beverly  shore,  a  favorite 
form  of  exercise  and  recreation.  Under 
the  conduct  of  the  Myopia  Hunt  Club, 
fox-hunts  after  the  English  pattern  engage 
the  enthusiastic  attention  of  a  considerable 
number  of  young  and  middle-aged  people 
during  the  early  autumn  months.  The 
beautiful  inland  country  about  Wenham, 
Hamilton,  and  Topsfield  has  become  a 
race-course  for  this  hunting  element,  many 
of  whom  do  not  hesitate  to  risk  life  and 
limb  in  their  almost  hysterical  enjoyment 
of  the  transplanted  ancient  sport.  The 
Hunt  Club  has  a  modest  club-house  at 
Hamilton,  where  a  pack  of  hounds  are 
kept,  and  in  the  course  of  the  last  ^wq 
years  a  colony  of  horse-loving  spirits  has 
absorbed  and  settled  upon  the  most  at- 
tractive of  the  surrounding  farms,  some 
of  which  possess  an  old-fashioned  pictu- 
resqueness  which  suggests  brass  andirons 
and  gilly-flowers. 

4^ 


The 

Hounds — 
Myopia 
Hunt  Club 


\  v 


These  hunting  men  and  women  have  The 
succeeded  In  maintaining  friendly  relations  ^^^^^' 
with  the  Essex  County  yeomanry,  over  ciub 
whose  corn-fields  they  dash  in  pursuit  of  a 
real  or  imaginary  reynard,  and  who  were 
inclined  at  first  to  resent  this  new  in- 
vasion of  red-coats  as  undemocratic  im- 
pertinence and  a  legal  trespass.  But 
well-mannered  tact,  especially  if  it  go 
hand-and-glove  with  liberal  indemnity,  will 
mollify  the  wounded  pride  even  of  a  New 
England  farmer.  By  degrees  the  hard 
headed  countrymen,  who  sniffed  at  fox- 
hunting as  mere  Anglomania,  have  become 
genuinely,  though  grimly,  enthralled  by 
the  pomp  and  excitement  of  the  show,  and 
take  almost  as  much  interest  in  following 
the  fortunes  of  the  riders  as  though  they 
themselves  were  booted  and  spurred  and 
swathed  in  pink.  To  cement  mutual  good 
feeling  a  ball  is  given  every  autumn, 
at  which  the  wives  and  daughters  of  the 
country-side  dance  with  the  master  of 
the  hounds  and  his  splendid  company, 
who  valiantly,  if  vainly,  endeavor  to  cut 

45 


The 

Nort,, 

Shore 


pigeon-wings  in  emulation  of  the  country 
swains. 

If  the  temper  of  the  Beverly-Manches- 
ter shore  is  equine,  no  less  is  it  nautical. 
The  telescopes  on  every  piazza  command 
the  entrance  to  Marblehead  Harbor,  and 
the  womenkind  unable  to  .distinguish  a 
cutter  from  a  stone  sloop  or  fishing 
schooner  are  in  the  minority.  On  fine 
sailing  days  a  bevy  of  yachts,  of  every  cut 
and  length,  is  to  be  seen  on  the  broad 
sweep  of  the  horizon,  and  often  so  close  to 
land  that  you  would  seem  to  be  able  to 
toss  the  traditional  biscuit  aboard  until  you 
made  the  attempt.  And  yet  the  number 
of  vessels  owned  by  the  actual  owners  of 
the  Shore  is  not  so  large  as  might  be  ex- 
pected. Not  everybody  by  any  means 
keeps  a  yacht,  and  only  an  intermittent 
chain  of  moorings  follows  the  coast.  Now 
and  again  some  cottager  of  means  buys  a 
steam-yacht  for  a  season  or  two,  in  which 
he  runs  to  town  when  he  is  not  pressed 
for  time,  and  invites  his  friends  to  make 
the  return  trip  with  him  at  the  close  of  the 
46 


■i\*.^ 


business  day.  Others  keep  a  comfortable  ^^^ 
full-fledged  schooner,  with  a  trusty  sailing- 
master,  at  their  doors  as  a  family  conven- 
ience, to  be  enjoyed  whenever  the  spirit 
moves  and  the  elements  invite  conjointly — 
which  sometimes  is  not  for  days  at  a  time, 
such  are  the  caprices  of  women  and  chil- 
dren, the  contrariety  of  weather,  and  the 
business  obligations  of  man. 

There  is,  too,  a  moderate  number  of 
small  craft — catboats  and  sloops — in  which 
yachtsmen  of  sixteen  and  some  of  maturer 
years,  who  deem  the  pleasure  of  handling 
the  tiller  superior  to  that  of  following  the 
dictates  of  a  sailing-master,  tempt  the  deep. 
But  whether  it  is  that  the  coast  is  an  ex- 
posed one,  so  that  yachts  cannot  lie  there 
safely  in  a  southeaster,  or  that  the  responsi- 
bilities of  maintaining  a  white-winged  racer 
seem  to  the  average  business  man  analo- 
gous to  those  of  maintaining  a  white  ele- 
phant, there  is  rather  a  dearth  of  yachts 
actually  owned  along  the  Beverly  shore,  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  in  the  racing  season 
the  coast  is  fairly  gay  with  them.   There  are 

49 


Be'verly 
Shore 


The 

North 

Shore 


few  more  beautiful  spectacles  than  the 
series  of  races  annually  conducted  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Eastern  Yacht  Club, 
when  the  grand  flotilla  of  visiting  New 
York  yachts,  in  all  their  high-priced  ma- 
jesty and  gracefulness,  join  the  united 
craft  of  the  New  England  coast,  and 
spread  their  wings  under  a  deep  blue  sky 
before  a  rattling  breeze.  Only  second  to 
this  display  is  the  captivating  spectacle  of 
Marblehead  Harbor  viewed  from  the 
piazza  of  the  Eastern  Yacht  Club,  when 
the  yachts,  great  and  little,  lie  packed  to- 
gether at  n,ight,  their  wings  folded  and 
their  sides  and  rigging  aglow  with  electric 
lights  and  lanterns  which  make  them  seem 
like  huge  fireflies  afloat  on  the  dark  waters 
of  the  basin.  Hither  to  Marblehead  Neck 
come  crowds  from  Boston  and  the  sur- 
rounding towns  to  see  the  Mayflower,  the 
Volunteer,  and  the'  huge  steam-yachts  in 
which  some  of  the  conspicuously  rich  men 
of  Gotham  take  their  summer  outings. 

A  casual  observer  might  suppose  that 
the  only  live  issues  on   the  North  Shore 
50 


At  Man- 
cheuer-by- 

t he -Sea 


SA 


ore 


were  horses  and  yachts.  The  wave  of  the  ^'^'^ 
discovery  that  there  are  many  wavs  of 
amusing  one's  self  profitably  and  harm- 
lessly in  our  vale  of  tears,  the  very  idea  of 
which  was  an  abomination  to  those  who 
laid  the  foundations  of  the  Republic,  has 
not  spared  this  delightful  region  in  its 
sweep  across  the  country.  But  surface 
indications  are  apt  to  be  deceitful,  and  it 
may  truthfully  be  said,  that  even  in  the 
way  of  surface  indications,  the  life  along 
the  North  Shore  has  but  few  of  the  purely 
volatile  features  which  distinguish  many  of 
the  doings  at  Newport,  for  instance.  And 
just  as  at  Newport  and  Bar  Harbor,  there 
are  hundreds  of  delightful  people  who  live 
apart  from  the  fashionable  rout,  because  it 
bores  them  to  jump  and  change  feet  all  the 
year  round,  so  this  class  along  the  North 
Shore  is  even  larger,  partly  because  of  the 
more  conservative  spirit  of  the  population, 
and  partly  for  the  reason  already  referred 
to,  that  the  cottagers  are  chiefly  active 
business  or  professional  men  who  go  to 
Boston  everv  day. 

53 


The 

North 
Shore 


The  North  Shore  is  essentially  a  Para- 
dise for  men  of  comfortable  means,  who 
do  not  wish  to  be  separated  from  their 
wives  and  children  in  summer,  and  who 
wish  at  the  same  time  to  give  their  families 
a  thorough  change  of  scene  and  atmosphere. 
Neither  his  interest  in  horses  nor  yachts, 
nor  the  desire  to  be  socially  rampant,  in- 
duces the  well-to-do  Bostonian  to  settle 
along  the  North  Shore.  He  thinks  rather 
of  the  comparative  ease  with  which  he  can 
exchange  the  parboiled  pavements  and  the 
scent  of  tepid  water-melon  for  the  delicious 
breeze  from  the  sea  which  greets  him  on 
his  own  piazza,  where  he  can  sit  through 
the  afternoon  on  a  long  cushioned  chair  and 
watch  the  yachts  sail  by,  waxing  proud  in 
his  belief  that  he  is  able  to  distinguish  one 
from  another.  He  thinks  of  the  delightful 
and  numerous  drives  in  every  direction,  and 
of  the  safe  beaches,  and  shaded  groves  in 
the  enjoyment  of  which  the  hue  of  health 
will  be  deepened  in  the  faces  of  his  chil- 
dren and  of  his  wife  and  grown-up  daugh- 
ters,   provided    they    do    not    wear  veils. 

54 


He  thinks,  in  short,  that  he  will  be  de- 
hghtfully  comfortable  ;  that  his  household 
can  be  kept  amiable  by  out-of-door  amuse- 
ments, while  he  enjoys  the  rest  which 
middle-aged  human  nature  ought  to  enjoy 
in  the  sweltering  season,  and  that  if  he 
chances  tc  feel  frisky,  he  can  drive  over 
to  dine  at  the  Marblehead  Club-House, 
or  feast  his  eyes  on  the  pink-coated  pag- 
eantry oi  an  aniseseed  hunt.  And,  not  to 
leave  the  finer  sensibilities  out  in  the 
cold — vou  may  be  sure  he  bears  them 
quietly  in  mind,  this  Bostonian  cottager — 
there  are  unsurpassed  and  rarely  paralleled 
effects  of  sky  and  water,  and  winds  and 
woods,  and  sunset  and  moon-glory,  con- 
tinuously appealing  to  his  love  of  nature 
with   endless  variety. 

The  ocean  on  the  north  shore  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  possesses  a  wider  range  of 
expression  than  on  the  other  side,  where 
it  begins  to  woo  the  sands  of  Cape  Cod  and 
to  yield  to  the  milder  moods  of  the  Gulf 
Stream.  It  is  a  veritable  lion  here,  and 
the  rugged,  rock-bound  coast  seems  to  be 

57 


T/w 
North 
Shore 


The 

North 
Shore 


a  necessary  bulwark  to  stay  the  fury  of  the 
elements.  The  very  temperature  of  the 
water,  and  the  fresh,  bracing  vigor  of  the 
winds,  suggest  a  strength  and  majesty 
which  is  sometimes  trying  to  human  con- 
stitutions which  lack  vitality.  But  though 
a  lion  when  roused,  this  northern  sea  has 
a  nobleness  of  disposition  which  makes  you 
forget  its  cruelty  on  the  very  morrow  after 
it  has  strewn  the  beach  with  salvage,  and 
dashed  in  gorgeous  spray  well-nigh  up  to 
your  chamber  window.  Then  there  is  a 
depth  of  blue  in  the  sky  and  water,  and 
a  life-giving,  life-stirring  warmth  in  the  sun 
which  fills  the  soul  with  gladness ;  and 
when  at  nightfall  the  breeze  dies  away, 
and  the  pink  and  saffron  clouds  paint 
themselves  upon  the  peaceful  deep  and  the 
silent 'landscape,  what  a  joy  it  is  to  sit  and 
watch  the  twilight  fade  into  night,  the  stars 
appear,  and  the  light-house  beacons  come 
out  like  other  stars  along  the  horizon. 
How  still,  refreshing,  and  soothing  is  the 
night !  You  only  just  catch  the  refrain 
of  the  automatic  buoy-whistle  guarding 
58 


7F""""T"'"":) 


The  Reef 
of  Nor. 
man' s 

Woe 


■^r  V- 


the  Graves,  appropriately  known  as  the  t'" 
Melancholy  Bull,  telHng,  from  across  the  ^Hl^ 
Bay,  that  the  storm  has  been  ;  and  once 
and  again  a  cool,  salty  pufF  announces  the 
advent  of  the  night-breeze.  Now  rides 
the  moon,  and  far  away  across  her  glitter- 
ing wake  glides  some  coaster  like  a  phan- 
tom ship.  Can  this  be  the  ocean  which 
yesterdav  seemed  so  cold  and  cruel  and 
revengeful,  as  you  listened  to  the  roar  of 
the  wind  upon  the  roof?  Even  the  "  Reef 
of  Norman's  Woe,"  that  poetic  sorrow  of 
the  coast,  the  Mecca  of  the  tourist  who 
visits  Gloucester,  has  lost  its  treacherous 
leer,  and  suggests  for  a  moment  to  the 
ever-hopeful  soul  that  nature  has  become 
the  slave  of  man.  Such  days,  such  nights 
are  the  frequent  recurring  boon  of  the 
dweller  by  the  North  Shore. 

Those  who  regard  the  continued  indi- 
vidual ownership  of  large  tracts  of  land, 
or  even  of  an  acreage  sufficient  to  keep 
one's  neighbor  at  a  respectful  distance,  as 
inconsistent  with  true  democratic  develop- 
ment, will  be  likely  to  look  askance  at  the 

6i 


^^^         beautiful   estates  alone  the  North  Shore. 

Nor 
Shot 


It  may  be  that  in  a  few  generations  we 


shall  all  live  cheek  by  jowl  with  one  an- 
other in  houses  built  and  painted  after  a 
stereotyped  model,  with  exactly  the  same 
number  of  square  feet  of  land  in  our  front- 
yards,  and  under  limitations  as  to  the 
number  of  flowers  we  may  grow  in  our 
pitiful  little  gardens,  for  fear  of  seeming  to 
outstrip  the  luxury  of  those  who  are  too 
indolent  to  grow  any.  Such  a  period 
may  become  necessary  in  the  process  of 
giving  all  men  an  opportunity  to  enjoy 
equally  the  fruits  of  the  earth  and  the  full- 
ness thereof  But  whatever  the  dim  fu- 
ture may  bring  to  pass  in  this  regard  by 
dint  of  positive  law  or  ethical  argument, 
there  is  no  doubt  that,  at  present,  the 
beautiful  seaside  estates  which  have  been 
cut  out  of  the  coast-line  from  farthest 
Maine  to  the  limits  of  the  shore  of  Buz- 
zard's Bay,  during  the  last  twenty  years, 
are  among  the  most  precious  of  human 
possession,  and  that  the  class  of  people 
seeking  for  them  is  increasing  in  direct 
62 


ratio  to  the  growth   of  refined  civilization     '^f^<^ 

,  North 

over  the  country. 

More  and  more  do  we  reaHze  that  a 
residence  at  a  summer  watering  place  hotel 
is  apt  to  leave  soul,  mind  and  body  jaded, 
and  that  to  bang  about  in  the  hot  weather 
at  fashionable  beaches  and  promiscuous 
springs  may  amuse  for  a  fortnight,  but  sug- 
gests by  the  close  of  a  season  the  atmos- 
phere of  the  corps  de  ballet  or  a  circus. 
We  are  learning  as  a  nation  to  rest  in 
summer,  instead  of  to  gad,  and  those  who 
have  been  the  fortunate  pioneers  in  the 
movement  are  indeed  to  be  envied,  for 
though  the  sands  of  the  sea  are  said  to  be 
unnumbered,  the  coast  of  New  England 
has  its  Hmitations.      Beati  possidentes  ! 


63 


i?T  "wssa^^^ 


/^' 


"T. 


7  ^_ 


